European Cars Listed as Least Reliable
 

In Survey, European Cars Listed as Least Reliable

by KYW's Matt Leon
Consumer Reports is out with a new automobile reliability study -- and the news is not good for European models or their owners.

The survey says as far as sedans go, 10 of the 11 least reliable cars are European. That includes luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, and BMW.


A reason for their problems in reliability, according to the survey: their increasing use of high-tech extras, which are more prone to failure.

This doesn't surprise Acura driver Brian Lane of Bethlehem, NJ:

"I can see that. You know, Americans love gadgets and they stand out. They continually try to add gadgets. But you know, it takes a few years for those things to be proven out."


For small cars, Volkswagen dominates the list of the least reliable.

This man drives a VW Jetta, one of the models on the list, and he disagrees that it is less reliable:

"I'm set -- 194,000 miles, and I've had no problems whatsoever on it."


Of the 32 cars models with the highest reliability rating, 29 were from Japan-based manufacturers.

More than 800,000 car owners were polled for the survey, which also took into account the results of government and independent safety tests.